"I can't believe people won't stop staring at me," Harry huffed at breakfast the next morning. "Why can't they get over it?"

"Probably because you're famous. For your parents dying!" Ron yelled the last bit at a herd of staring students, causing them to look away ashamedly.

"I hate the stairs in this place. Dad wasn't lying when he said they were a death trap," Neville said, jogging to catch up. "And what's up with the third floor corridor? Who tells a bunch of students they'll die a painful death?"

"I talked to Sirius about it last night. I love those mirrors!" Harry said, taking out his mirror.

"I can't believe you brought that to class," Neville said, staring at Harry.

"What if things get boring?" Harry asked, completely serious.

"What if Professor McGonagall catches you and sends it back to Aunt Hest?" Neville asked, eyes wide.

"You've only known her for a day and you're already sounding like Hermione. You need to hang out with us more and her less," Ron suggested.

"Look, she was nice to me. You know how little that actually happens," Neville said with a shrug. "Now, breakfast?"

"Or the third floor corridor," Harry said with mischief twinkling in his eyes.

"No, breakfast, then class," Neville said, grabbing Harry's arm and steering him forward.

"Fine. You spend too much time taking care of Marly. I will not by your Marly replacement," Harry informed him, following none-the-less.

"Then don't act like a six year old girl," Neville deadpanned.

"That was good," Ron snickered.

After breakfast, they started trying to find their classes.

"Why don't they give us maps of this horrible school?" Harry asked, jiggling the handle of a locked door. That was how they met the school janitor, Filch, and his horrible cat, Mrs. Norris. The locked door, of course, was the third floor corridor and Filch wasn't believing that they didn't mean to try to break in.

They had Astronomy lessons where they learned about the constellations.

"Honestly, Harry, you're at an advantage. Why do you have to take the class if all your god-siblings are named after constellations?"

On Wednesday nights, Astronomy took place at midnight on the Astronomy tower so they could observe the star patterns. Herbology was three times a week out in the greenhouses and Neville was refusing to help anyone who wasn't Hermione since, as he put it, they had had plenty of time to figure out magical plants and fungi and their uses and Hermione was new to this world. That attitude made Ron hate Hermione even more than he had before.

In History of Magic, Harry and Ron struggled not to fall asleep as the ghost of Professor Binns droned on about dates and battles that had long been forgotten by anyone with sense. Professor Flitwick was a tiny man that toppled right off his pile of books when he read Harry's name. It wasn't because of his fame, however. Sirius had warned Harry that Lily was a favorite of Flitwick's and he would have some large shoes to fill.

Transfiguration was Harry's favorite class by far. Aunt Minnie would have been his favorite teacher in any event just by being head of Gryffindor House. Harry knew better than to call her Aunt Minnie in front of other students, but he really felt he would remember after her opening remarks.

"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn in Hogwarts, Anyone messing about will leave and not come back," she informed them, promptly turning her desk into a pig. She then started giving them notes on steps and processes that made the student realize that they would not be turning anything into a pig today, or anytime in the near future. Finally, Professor McGonagall flicked her wand and each student was given a match to turn into a needle.

"You've got this class in the bag, what with Sirius being an animagus," Ron whispered, attracting Professor McGonagall's attention.

"Mr. Weasley, you would do best to be quiet and focus on turning that match into a needle. It's complicated work for students at your age and the steps needed are fundamental for later transfiguration work. Do try your hardest," she said, turning a stern eye on him.

At the end of the class, only Hermione had managed to turn the match into a needle. Harry and Ron had gotten close, but both ended up with wooden needles instead of metal ones. Neville had only just managed to get the end of his match to make a point, but it was better than he thought he would do.

Next came Defense Against the Dark Arts. While the name was thrilling, the class wasn't much better than History of Magic. Harry realized that Hagrid was right, Professor Quirrell was afraid of his own subject. Harry, Ron, and Neville found that they were sorely ahead of the class in terms of knowledge. Neville took to sitting with Hermione to help her get through the class work, as she was so worried about being behind. Professor Quirrell was proving to be a hindrance to education in his own right. He refused to answer questions about his travels and his turban perpetually smelled mostly of garlic, which prompted the twins to start a rumor that he kept garlic back there to ward off vampires.

On Friday came the class they had all been dreading, double potions with Snape and the Slytherins. It was common knowledge that Snape favored Slytherin house over all the others, something that not even Professor McGonagall tended to do. They met up with Draco outside of the potions lab.

"How's things in the Snake Pit, Draco?" Harry asked, genuinely worried about his friend.

"Wonderful. You made a nice enemy of Nott on the train. However, his goons understand one thing, power. And I'm still a Malfoy and a Black. They fell in line well enough. Crabbe, Goyle, meet Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Neville Longbottom. They're off limits." Draco said, waving at the meaty boys behind him.

"You have goons? Wicked! We match now!" Harry said, high fiving Draco.

"And how, exactly, do you match?" Ron asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Well, you and Neville are obviously my goons. And now Draco has those two," Harry said with a shrug.

"I agree with Harry," Draco said, goading Ron.

"How about I punch you in the face and we see who's the goon," Ron said, facing turning the color of his hair.

"You can't go fighting each other! It's against the rules," Hermione found them. Ron, Harry, Crabbe, and Goyle all rolled their eyes.

"They're not actually going to hurt each other, Hermione. We all grew up together. That's just how Draco and Ron talk to each other. I'm shocked they made it this long without having a nice row in the Great Hall and losing both houses points," Neville explained, pulling Hermione to the side. "Come on, let's get to class before Professor Snape takes points as well."

The potions lab was quiet and dark, much like the potions lab at Black Manor. Draco felt at home in his step-father's classroom. He sat with Harry and Ron while Neville sat with Hermione in the row in front of them.

Snape entered the classroom and started with roll call. When he got to Harry's name, he paused and said, "Ah, yes, our new celebrity," causing Draco and his goons to snicker at Harry's expense. When Snape looked back at his roll, Harry made a rude gesture at Draco, only increasing his mirth. After ending roll call, Snape launched into his beginning of the year speech.

"You are here to learn the exact science and art of potions making. As there is no foolish wand waving, many of you will be hard pressed to believe this is magic. I don't expect you to understand the beauty of a softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids creeping through human veins, bewitching the mind and ensnaring senses… I can teach you to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death- if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

Silence reigned in the room as Harry and Ron shared a look at Hermione, perched on the edge of her seat, ready to prove she wasn't a dunderhead.

"Potter! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Snape suddenly asked. Hermione's hand went straight into the air even though the question was clearly aimed at another student.

"The Draught of the Living Death, Professor," Harry said, blinking at Snape's sudden need to pick on him. Usually, Snape tried to forget that anyone under the age of 17 existed outside of his precious Atria.

"Very good, Potter," Snape said, "Let's try this one, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?" Hermione's hand went into the air again, this time with more vigor.

"In the stomach of a goat. It's a stone that will save you from most potions," Harry said, wondering at the potions primer.

"What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?" Snape asked a third time. Hermione almost knocked her stool over to get her hand high enough for Snape to see.

"There the same thing. Geez, Professor, you could lay off. You know I know the answers to your questions. Besides, it's not fair to the other students if you show your favorites during the first class period. How about you ask Hermione some questions. She seems to know the answers, too," Harry said, crossing his arms.

"Detention, I believe, Mr. Potter," Snape said, turning to the board.

"Should we make a weekly arrangement, Professor?" Harry asked, polishing his nails on his robe. Hermione could be heard hitting her head against her desk and Draco snickered into his hand.

"Hestia is so going to kill you," Draco said.

"Yeah, but Sirius will buy me that Nimbus 2000, so I'll call it a draw," Harry said with a smirk. Hermione only hit her head harder on her desk and Ron joined Draco in snickering.

Snape broke them up and made them brew a simple potions to cure boils. Snape watched them with hawk-like precision, quick to criticize even the smallest mistakes. Neville took the brunt of the abusive, as his nerves set in. Snape began praising Draco's potion as perfect when Neville, who had never had an issue brewing it at home, suddenly melted the cauldron he and Seamus were sharing. The potion leaked across the floor, burning the soles of people's shoes. Neville himself was drenched in the slime and sprouted painful boils. Snape's immediate reaction was to begin shouting.

"I assume you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"

Neville's whimpers of pain were taken as an affirmation of Snape's accusation.

"Granger! Take Longbottom to the Hospital Wing! Potter, explain why you didn't stop him from putting the quills in before taking the cauldron off the heat," Snape demanded.

"If I remember correctly, Professor," Harry started, "the very first potions lesson you taught Draco, Ron, Neville, and I when we were 7 was to never take our eyes off our own potions. If your neighbor screws up, it's his fault. Don't jump in and take care of others mistakes. Or does that only apply when your step-son is the one who would have to take responsibility for someone else's potion?"

"Ten points from Gryffindor for cheek," Snape said, waving his wand and cleaning up the potions mishap. "The rest of you, back to work!"

An hour later, they stumbled out of the potions lab, brain-fried. Once they were well away from the potions lab, Draco rounded on Harry and shoved him into a wall.

"What was the point of dragging me into that?" Draco demanded.

"Uh, I don't know, maybe the fact that your crazy step-father just yelled at Neville for messing up a potion he knows full well he can brew and all you did was stand there and stare like an idiot," Harry said, shoving Draco back.

"Don't go throwing that around! I don't want everyone knowing that Snape is my step-father! It's bad enough he'll be there on breaks! I don't want reminders of it when I'm here!" Draco said, covering Harry's mouth.

"Oh, come off it. Everyone already knows. This git is the only one with so little tact as to actually address it," Ron said, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.

"Doesn't mean I shouldn't punch this git in the mouth and remind him of his manners," Draco said, narrowing his eyes at Harry.

"And risk showing off the poor manners one gets when one is raised by half-bloods and blood-traitors?" Nott said, coming up to the group.

"Piss off, Nott," Harry and Draco said in unison, turning on the boy.

"Ooo. Talking in unison, that's cute," Nott taunted.

"Let's get out of here, Draco," Harry said, leading his friends away.

"Running away, Potter," Nott taunted again.

"Not running away, just making sure I don't get expelled for punching you in the face," Harry returned. "Let's go see Hagrid."

Hagrid's hut was everything that Charlie had told them about and more. The wooden hut was a haven, a place where little boys could be little boys. They chatted with Hagrid about classes, Charlie, and the fact the Snape really hated Harry and Neville.

"That's not true. He jus' has a problem with all Gryffindors," Hagrid tried to reassure the boys.

"No, he really, really doesn't like us. And this git didn't even pretend to care!" Harry said, stinging from Draco's perceived betrayal.

"Hagrid, what's this?" Neville said suddenly, holding up the Daily Prophet.

"Oh, that's nothin' important," Hagrid tried, but he was too slow. Soon, all four boys had the the article read.

"Someone broke into Gringotts! On the same day we were there!" Harry asked, eyes wide. Hagrid refused to look at the boys.

"Wait, it said that the vault had been emptied earlier that day. Didn't you pick up something for Dumbledore that day?" Draco asked. Hagrid, again, refused to look at the boys.

"Let's focus on something else, like the fact that Hagrid got Harry that bird but never gave me anything for my birthday!" Ron said, watching Harry and Draco have a silent conversation.

"You're just jealous because I have Hedwig and you're stuck with Errol!" Harry said, taking Ron's offer at a change of subject.

"Hey, now, Harry is very dear to me. I can't go buyin' the lot o' you present, now can I?" Hagrid asked, taking the bait.

The afternoon was pleasant again after that. The boys all silently agreed to talk about the vault break-in at a more opportune moment, preferring to enjoy time with the gamekeeper.


The boys didn't get to see Draco very often, as they only had potions with the Slytherin. One morning, they woke to find that would soon change. Flying lessons were coming up, and Gryffindor had their lessons with the Slytherins.

On the morning of the first flying lessons, Neville received a package from his grandmother, causing Harry and Ron to groan in pity.

"What did the crazy old bat send you this time?" Ron asked, causing poor Hermione to look up from Quidditch Through the Ages, which she was reading in an attempt to learn flying from an academic standpoint.

"You can't talk about a person's grandmother that way, Ronald. It's completely disrespectful," she scolded, earning a snicker from Harry.

"It's a Rememberall, to help me remember if I've forgotten something," Neville said as the orb turned red. "Oh dear, I have forgotten something."

"Does it tell you what you've forgotten?" Draco asked, coming over to see his friends.

"No, it doesn't," Neville said, looking at the orb as if it had killed Trevor.

"First a toad with no cage and now a Rememberall to make you feel bad. I swear it's like she hates you or something," Draco said, snatching the orb from Neville and tossing it in the air.

"I can't lose that, Draco! She charms these things to know whether or not I've tried!" Neville said, diving for the orb. Draco laughed and held it just out of his reach.

"Gentlemen, what is going on here?" Professor McGonagall asked, seeing the scene.

"Draco took my Rememberall, Professor!" Neville said, diving for the orb again.

"Aunt Minnie, it's like Mrs. Longbottom hates Neville or something!" Harry informed her, thinking this was important information.

"You can't be so informal with a professor!" Hermione cried in horror.

"Ms. Granger is correct, Harry. While we are at Hogwarts, it's 'Professor McGongall,'" Professor McGonagall corrected him.

"But Padfoot said he called you 'Minnie' all the time and you loved it," Harry's eyes went wide in mock innocence.

"I'll be having a word with your primary caregiver, then," Professor McGonagall said. She, then, turned to Draco. "Mr. Malfoy, give Mr. Longbottom the Rememberall back and I won't inform your mother of your disrespectful attitude to your friends."

"Yes, Professor," Draco said, tossing the orb to Neville. With that, they left for classes for the day.

Flying lessons were scheduled for 3:30. Harry, Ron, Draco, and Neville had gathered outside just as soon as their last class had ended.

"We shouldn't have to do this!" Harry yelled, then he turned on Draco and asked, "why aren't you more upset?"

"Because, I can pass with flying colors," Draco said, smirking.

"Ha. Ha. You're not funny," Harry said, crossing his arms. "These aren't even real brooms. These brooms suck. We'll die of old age before they take off. No one could pass with these brooms."

"They must, because they use them every year," Neville said, looking plaintively at his broom.

"Yeah, every year since Hogwarts was founded!" Harry said, throwing his arms in the air.

"You could donate new brooms," Draco suggested, buffing his nails against his collar.

"No I can't! That's 'not a real use' of my inheritance," Harry said, going back to pouting.

"Hestia shut you down?" Ron asked.

"Sirius! The traitor!" Harry complained.

"Sirius said that he had to learn on them so we have to learn on them," Neville explained, having overheard the whole conversation on the mirrors after Harry accidentally caught sight of the brooms exploring the weekend before.

"He said the challenge was worth it," Harry continued his pouting.

"I'm concerned about Hermione, though," Neville said, looking at a nearby wall.

"Why? She's perfect at everything else in the school, she'll be fine at this, too," Ron said, pelting Neville in the head with his Rememberall.

"She's good at things she can study. Can't study flying, it's pass/fail. And with these brooms, even Harry's going to fail," Neville said, looking at the brooms.

About then, their teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived and directed them to each stand by a broom. She told them to command the broom to come up by simply say, "Up!"

Harry's broom jumped straight into his hand, so he took a look around at the other students. It seemed Neville was right, Hermione wasn't going to do well at this. Her broom was rolling on the ground, uninterested in going for another fly. Neville's was refusing to budge and Ron's took a couple of tries before it came up to his hand. Finally, Madam Hooch just had the remaining students grab their brooms from the ground and mount them, which was what Harry thought she should have done in the first place. No one ever commanded their broom up, it was usually already in their hand.

Madam Hooch had them all stand on the ground as she corrected grip here and there, telling Nott that, no matter what he thought, he was holding the broomstick wrong and would most likely injure himself if he kept up like this.

"Now," Madam Hooch addressed the class as a whole. "I want you to kick off, go a few feet up, then return to the ground by leaning forward ever so slightly."

Neville, who hadn't had broom troubles in years, kicked off and his broom went sailing into the air; first ten feet, then fifteen. At twenty feet, he lost his grip, or his nerve, and fell off the broom and into a wall with a mighty BAM!

Madam Hooch rushed to where Neville lay on the ground. Harry felt panic rise in his chest, Neville was hurt. Neville never got hurt, he was the careful one, the one that grounded them.

"Broken wrist. Let's get you up to the Hospital Wing," Madam Hooch inform him. Then she turned on the rest of the class. "None of you move. Those brooms are to stay where they are until I get back or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch'!"

She led Neville inside, leaving the latest generation of Slytherins and Gryffindors unsupervised and near potentially dangerous brooms.

"Maybe Sirius will let you get those new brooms now," Ron commented, breaking the tension.

"Did you see that lump! He fell so hard!" Nott laughed, causing a few other Slytherins to join in.

"Shut your mouth, Nott, if you know what's good for you," Draco said, causing at least Crabbe and Goyle to shut up.

"Standing up for the Gryff's, Draco?" A nasty girl named Pansy Parkinson asked. "I didn't think you would stoop so low."

"You may technically be Sacred 28, but remind me, who's your mum?" Draco asked, looking down his nose at the girl. He knew she was legitimate, but doubt went a long way in the dungeons.

"That's not what matters," Nott said, distracting the group. "What matters is that Longbottom dropped this!" Then he lifted the Rememerall up for all to see.

"Give it back, Nott," Harry said lowly.

"Oh how about I leave it someplace for Longbottom to find, like in this tree!" Nott said, taking off.

"Give it back, Nott," Harry said, grabbing his own broom and taking off in pursuit.

"No! You can't! Madam Hooch said to stay here! You'll both get expelled!" Hermione said, waving her arms about.

"This can only end in tears," was the last thing Harry heard Ron say before chasing Nott down.

Sirius was right, the school broom provided a bit of a challenge, but it was a challenge Harry was willing to take. It had been too long since flying had been difficult for him. He chased Nott down in spectacular fashion, catching up to him easily. Nott panicked and threw the Rememberall towards the school, then looped back to the group. Harry knew there was only one thing to do to save his friend. He dove straight down and caught the orb just before it hit the ground, then pulled out of the dive and headed back to the group.

"That was a wicked catch, mate," Ron said when he landed.

"If you would have done that against Ginny, you would have beat her," Draco added.

"Oh no! You're sure to be expelled now!" Hermione threw in, seeing something the boys couldn't.

"Mr. Potter, if you please," Harry felt the true meaning of fear. Aunt Minnie had caught him. He had disobeyed the rules and Aunt Minnie had caught him. He was warned that she would be harder on him than any other student by virtue of their relationship.

"It was Nott, Professor!" Pavarti Patil tried to defend.

"That's enough. Harry Potter do you realize that you could have broken your neck in a dive like that?" McGonagall asked. Harry just stared, wondering if he would have to go to France to school now.

"Professor, Nott stole-" but that was all the farther Ron got before he was cut off.

"That's enough, Mr. Weasley. Mr. Potter, you will follow me."

"Please Aunt Minnie! Don't send me home! Sirius won't let me hear the end of it! I'll have to go to Beauxbatons! You know Hestia will send me there! Please, have some mercy! I can't speak French! Please Aunt Minnie! You know I can make that dive! You've seen me do it before!" Harry pleaded, but it seemed useless. She just kept walking, so he followed, trying to plead his case. He was shocked when they stopped outside of the Charms classroom.

"Professor Flitwick," Professor McGonagall asked, after interrupting class. "May I borrow Wood for a moment?"

Wood was a burly fifth year who was confused as to why he was leaving Charms during his OWL year.

"Follow me," she demanded, leading them to an empty classroom. After she shooed Peeves away, she turned to them. "Wood, I've found a Seeker. I've been trying to find a way to get him in as Seeker, but that stupid rule is still in place from Harry's father."

"He's the right size for a Seeker, but what convinced you?" Wood asked.

"He did a fifty foot dive after a Rememberall, then pulled out of it without a scratch," McGonagall said. "He couldn't even do that over the summer. Crashed into the pond when he tried."

"One, Draco got in the way. Two, I wasn't trying a fifty foot dive, I was trying to catch the snitch before Draco did," Harry said, crossing his arms and pouting.

"We'll need to get him a decent broom here somehow," Wood said, looking at his head of house.

"Don't you worry. I will owl Sirius and tell him to send the Weasley twins that second broom. He'll be glad to do it. We won't trust Dumbledore to bend the rules. We'll bend them ourselves," McGonagall said with a twinkle in her eye. "As for you, Harry; you better practice hard and win me that cup. I will not lose to Severus again. Couldn't even look him in eye for weeks last term."

"Don't worry, Aunt Minnie, I will," Harry said with a smile.


"You're joking!" Ron said at supper that night.

"But keep it quiet, it's a secret. We can't we even tell Draco," Harry said.

"What did Wood do?" Ron asked.

"He cried. He took me out to test it and when I caught the snitch, he cried," Harry informed them.

"I told you this would end in tears," Ron said, turning back to his own supper.

"Having a last meal, Potter?" Draco asked good naturedly, walking up to Harry.

"Naw, Professor McGongall went easy on me," Harry said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Are you getting back on the train and going home?" Nott asked, walking up with Crabbe and Goyle, who seemed to be confused on which party to follow.

"You seem a lot braver here, safe on the ground," Harry said with roll of his eyes.

"I'll take you on anytime, all by myself. How about a wizard's duel at midnight in the Trophy Room," Nott said, sizing Harry up.

"Oh, right. Then you, what, run off a get Snape and get them in trouble? If you want a real wizard's duel you have it during the day like a normal human being," Draco said, rolling his eyes at Nott's plan. Draco secretly thought it was brilliant, but not if he was going to use it on his friend.

"We're not afraid of that," Harry said with a smirk, planning on grabbing the Map from the twins before they went to bed.

"Oh, and who's your second?" Nott asked with a smirk.

"Ron, who's yours? Crabbe or Goyle?" Harry replied.

"I think… Malfoy. That way we all know I'll show up and not go through with his plan," Nott said, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

"You're right, you'll show up. I'll beat you myself, the muggle way with fists and everything, if you set us up," Draco said. Then he added, for emphasis to the pecking order. "Or, I'll have Crabbe and Goyle do it. You'll be willing, won't you?"

They looked between the two boys, then decided that Draco's father was clearly the bigger threat. He had actually gone to Azkaban for the Dark Lord, and Draco had visitation rights. He could set them up well, should a new order be implemented. They were smart enough to know that was where the true power lay. So, with that thought, the most intelligent one they'd had up unto this point, they nodded their heads, agreeing to beat up Nott if Draco so ordered.

"Fine, we'll be there," Draco said, regret already forming in his stomach.

"I couldn't help overhearing you," Hermione started.

"Bet you could," Ron interrupted with a cock of his eyebrow.

"No, I really couldn't. I'm amazed the prefects or the teachers didn't hear you with how loud you were being. Anyway, you mustn't go to the Trophy Room tonight! You'll be caught and then you'll be expelled! It's really selfish of you!" She implored.

"And it's really none of your business," Harry said, patting her on the head condescendingly.

"Good-bye," Ron said, and with that, they left for the common room.


They hadn't been lucky enough to catch the twins before Percy sent them up to bed. Neville hadn't made it back from the Hospital Wing, so they were stuck listening to Dean and Seamus fall asleep, waiting for it to be time to go face Nott.

"Half eleven, we should head down," Ron said, grabbing his wand. They were both experts in dueling at this point in their lives, so they didn't see the need to discuss strategy on their way down. They almost made it to the portrait when the most horrifying thing happened.

"I can't believe you're going to do this, Harry," Hermione said, sitting in a nearby chair, wearing a fuzzy pink bathrobe over her pajamas.

"I can't believe you waited up just to lecture us," Harry shot back.

"I almost told Percy- he's a prefect. He would have stopped this," Hermione informed them.

"Yet, you didn't. What does that say about you, Granger," Ron asked, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

"I was hoping you cared about Gryffindor! I don't want Slytherin to win the house cup, and you're about to lose all the points I've gotten us all year!" Hermione cried.

"Just go on up to bed," Ron told her, pointing to the girls stairs.

Instead, she followed them out into the hallway, continuing to berate them.

"How about you hush it, before you get us caught," Ron suggested, making the girl snap her mouth closed. The portrait closed and that's when they saw that they wouldn't be getting in anytime soon. The Fat Lady had gone visiting and wouldn't be back to her post for hours now. Then, to add insult to injury, they tripped over a sleeping Neville.

"Neville, bloody hell, what are you doing out here?" Ron asked, causing Hermione to whimper at the vulgar language.

"Forgot the password again, so I had to wait for someone to open the door. What are you doing out?" Neville asked.

"Going to hex Nott. Wanna join," Harry said flippantly.

"Hermione, why are you out?" Neville asked.

"I was trying to stop them, but they wouldn't listen," she told him.

"They never do. You'd better get used to it now," Neville told her sympathetically.

"She's not getting used to it, she's staying here," Ron said, trying to shoo the girl away.

"Less chance of getting caught if I stay moving with you," Hermione said with a shrug of her shoulders.

They gathered Neville up and sneaked their way down to the Trophy Room. They waited and waited, but nothing happened. Nott never showed up, and neither did Draco. Filch and Mrs. Norris, on the other could be heard just around the corner.

"Find them, my sweet," Filch said in his creep voice. "I know there're students out of bed."

The four broke into a run, staying just ahead of Filch. They ran down a corridor filled with suits of armor. Neville's eyes widened and he grabbed Ron, causing the two boys to careen into a suit of armor and creating an almighty BANG!

"There they are!" Filch said, causing the group to run even faster. They ripped through a tapestry into a hidden passage that Harry remembered led to the Charms classroom hallway. They were miles from the Trophy Room, so they slowed to a halt.

Neville panted for breath, as Hermione exclaimed, "I- told- you," wheezing and clutching her side, "I- told- you- we- would- be- caught."

"Oh stop," Ron said, panting a bit himself.

"Nott was never going to come! He meant to get you into trouble," she told them.

"Yeah, and Draco was meant to make sure he came. Traitor has a lot to answer for in the morning," Harry said.

"Let's get back to the tower, now," Neville interjected, wanting this day to be over. That's when Peeves graced them with his presence.

"Oh, Ickly Firsties, out of bed. Should I tell Filch?" The evil poltergeist asked, smirking.

"Please leave us alone, Peeves," Hermione implored.

"I think," Peeves said, tapping his chin. "FIRST YEARS OUT OF BED! FIRST YEARS OUT OF BED IN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!" Then he cackled evilly.

"Now we're done for!" Ron said and they ran down the hall and straight into a locked door.

"Now what?" Ron asked in a panic.

"Shove over," Hermione said, grabbing Harry's wand from his hand. He protested as she said, "Alohomora!"

They piled in and turned to listen at the door. They heard Peeves irritate the daylights out of Filch, sending Filch running down a different hall.

"We should be safe. Get off, Neville," Ron said, shoving Neville. Neville shoved back with a whimper. "What's wrong with you?"

Harry, Hermione, and Ron turned and found out just what was wrong with Neville. They were in the forbidden third floor corridor, and now they knew why it was forbidden. There was a giant three headed dog locked away, and Harry knew what it meant to have a dog snarl at him.

He reached behind himself and turned the doorknob, deciding that expulsion was not worse than death. They fell into the hallway to find that Filch had run off in an unknown direction to find them. They raced back to the tower to find the Fat Lady had returned.

"Where have you been?" She asked, perplexed as to how her charges had escaped.

"That doesn't matter! Pig snout! Pig snout!" Harry said and they all piled into the common room.

They lay in the floor and just panted for breath for a bit. Then Ron asked, "What do you think they've got a beast like that in a school for?"

Hermione regained her breath and her temper. "Don't any of you use your eyes! Didn't you see what it was standing on?

"Look, you don't look away from a dog's eyes when it's upset, trust me I know. So, no, I didn't look at the floor," Harry said defensively.

"It was standing on a trapdoor. It's guarding something," she said with a roll of her eyes. "Now, I'm going to bed before you lot get us killed- or worse, expelled."

Harry and Ron gaped at her as she walked up the stairs.

"You'd have thought we dragged her along! We tried to get her to stay here," Ron said, put out by the brunette's behavior.

As the three boys walked back to their room, Harry thought about the trapdoor, and the fact that Hagrid had once told him that Hogwarts was one of the safest places to store valuables. Maybe Dumbledore was hiding something in the school. This was a perfect chance for some mischief.


Gabs: Whew, that took longer than I thought. I forgot so much happened in the first few weeks of school first year.

Kat: I might have to reread it… Again. Thank you for all of you who have reviewed! We will keep sending you a small portion of the next chapter!

Gabs: Especially since we miscalculated and accidentally started the next chapter before finishing this one.

Kat: Yeah we did! Can I just say "troll!" As always, we own nothing but the smart comments!

Gabs: We definitely don't own the bits we copied straight from canon.

Kat: Don't, however, expect us to follow cannon throughout the whole story…

Gabs: *Gasp* You mean a story that starts with Sirius not going to prison won't follow canon! Next you'll say the sky is blue and students are supposed to be silent when the teacher speaks!

Kat: Comment if you love us! Or hate us, either way!

XOXO

Gabs and Kat